current events

Against this sound and fury, pro-war critics complain that good news is being ignored, and they are right. So, too, is a lot of bad news. Kidnapping, looting, criminal opportunism and xenophobia make it simply too dangerous for Western journalists to visit many areas.

As recently as last (northern) spring we could travel relatively freely throughout Iraq, even to hotbeds of Sunni resistance such as Fallujah or Ramadi.

We could eat in Baghdad’s restaurants and shop in its markets. We lived in a suburban house until the day we received death threats.

Today, we live in fortified hotels and move around the capital with extreme caution.

A year ago every fatal attack on coalition forces, or suicide bomb, made news. Today they are so common we report only the really big ones.

The deadly chaos also confronts foreign aid workers, who now run their operations from neighbouring Jordan, and rich Iraqis the lawyers, doctors and wealthy merchants who, daily, fear the kidnap of loved ones for ransom. “Maku Karaba, Maku Amin” no electricity, no security is still the cry of Iraqis on the street.